Directed Search, Wages, and Non- Wage Amenities: Evidence from an Online Job Board

Authors / Verónica Escudero, Hannah Liepmann, Damián Vergara © International Labour Organization 2025 Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International. See:https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The user is allowed to reuse, share (copy and redistrib-ute), adapt (remix, transform and build upon the original work) as detailed in the licence. Theuser must clearly credit the ILO as the source of the material and indicate if changes were madeto the original content. Use of the emblem, name and logo of the ILO is not permitted in con-nection with translations, adaptations or other derivative works. Attribution– The user must indicate if changes were made and must cite the work as follows:Escudero, V., Liepmann, H., Vergara, D.Directed Search, Wages, and Non-Wage Amenities: : Evidencefrom an Online Job Board. ILO Working Paper 136. Geneva: International Labour Office, 2025.© ILO. Translations– In case of a translation of this work, the following disclaimer must be addedalong with the attribution:This is a translation of a copyrighted work of the International LabourOrganization (ILO). This translation has not been prepared, reviewed or endorsed by the ILO and shouldnot be considered an official ILO translation. The ILO disclaims all responsibility for its content and ac-curacy. Responsibility rests solely with the author(s) of the translation. Adaptations– In case of an adaptation of this work, the following disclaimer must be addedalong with the attribution:This is an adaptation of a copyrighted work of the International LabourOrganization (ILO). This adaptation has not been prepared, reviewed or endorsed by the ILO and shouldnot be considered an official ILO adaptation. The ILO disclaims all responsibility for its content and ac-curacy. Responsibility rests solely with the author(s) of the adaptation. Third-party materials– This Creative Commons licence does not apply to non-ILO copyright ma-terials included in this publication. If the material is attributed to a third party, the user of suchmaterial is solely responsible for clearing the rights with the rights holder and for any claims ofinfringement. Any dispute arising under this licence that cannot be settled amicably shall be referred to arbitra-tion in accordance with the Arbitration Rules of the United Nations Commission on InternationalTrade Law (UNCITRAL). The parties shall be bound by any arbitration award rendered as a resultof such arbitration as the final adjudication of such a dispute. For details on rights and licensing, contact:rights@ilo.org. For details on ILO publications anddigital products, visit:www.ilo.org/publns. ISBN 9789220413920 (print), ISBN 9789220413937 (web PDF), ISBN 9789220413944 (epub), ISBN9789220413951 (html). ISSN 2708-3438 (print), ISSN 2708-3446 (digital) https://doi.org/10.54394/YWML9238 The designations employed in ILO publications, which are in conformity with United Nationspractice, and the presentation of material therein do not imply the expression of any opinionwhatsoever on the part of the ILO concerning the legal status of any country, area or territory or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. See:www.ilo.org/disclaimer. The opinions and views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not nec-essarily reflect the opinions, views or policies of the ILO. Reference to names of firms and commercial products and processes does not imply their en-dorsement by the ILO, and any failure to mention a particular firm, commercial product or pro-cess is not a sign of disapproval. Information on ILO publications and digital products can be found at:www.ilo.org/research-and-publications ILO Working Papers summarize the results of ILO research in progress, and seek to stimulatediscussion of a range of issues related to the world of work. Comments on this ILO Working Paperare welcome and can be sent toescudero@ilo.org. Authorization for publication: Richard Samans, Director, Research Department ILO Working Papers can be found at:www.ilo.org/global/publications/working-papers Suggested citation:Escudero, V., Liepmann, H., Vergara, D. 2025.Directed Search, Wages, and Non-Wage Amenities:: Evidence from an Online Job Board, ILO Working Paper 136 (Geneva, ILO).https://doi.org/10.54394/YWML9238 Abstract We leverage rich data from a prominent online job board in Uruguay to assess directed searchpatterns in job applications, focusing on posted wages and advertised non-wage amenities. Wefind robust evidence of directed search based on posted wages in the cross-section, with starkheterogeneity by occupation: the wage-application correlation is driven by vacancies attached tolower-skill occupations, with applications to vacancies attached to higher-skill occupations show-ing no responsiveness to posted wages. By applying text analysis to the job ads, we elicit adver-tised non-